


Partners

by Vyce



Category: Borderlands
Genre: Beating, Blood, Choking, Desk Sex, Dubious Consent, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, M/M, Rape/Non-con Elements, Verbal Abuse, aggressive fuck, attempt to kill, blowjob, ending!au, everybody else dies, jack's a psycho and i love it, scared!rhys, temple port play
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-04-26
Packaged: 2018-06-04 15:28:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6664171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vyce/pseuds/Vyce
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Rhys tries to run, Jack comes after him in a new tangible body - afterall, puppies need training, don't they?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Partners

_'Is this real? Is he asking me to be his partner?'_

Rhys was seated in the big yellow chair in Jack's old office, a nervous smile on his face as the chair injected subtle amounts of dopamine into his system, listening to Jack tell him his plans for Hyperion, Helios and their partnership. The more Jack spoke, however, the more unsure Rhys became; it all sounded too good to be true, and if he was being honest with himself, a bit of a strange thing for Jack to offer because afterall, he was Handsome Jack. That itself was self-explanitory.  
Teaming up with Jack was all Rhys had wanted in the beginning, but being around him as a hologram for the past three months had come to show the real Jack that Rhys had never known about. His ideas were bizarre and likely immoral, but Rhys was still on board and curious to hear more. 

"So what I need you to do is plug me in, right into that head of yours."  
"Didn't I already-"  
"No, cupcake, this... this is _different_. When you use this jack- heh, get it? This Jack?" He pointed at himself before using his electric energy to force a circuit to a switch turn on, a small jack coming out of the side of the chair. "When you use this jack, I get into the mainframe. Ehhh, there's more to it than that, but that part's a surprise. And I can't wait to show you." His voice trailed off in a low pitch, almost a grumble, as he stared at Rhys with a devious grin on his face.  
"I just... put it in?"  
"Well, when you put it like thaaat... sorry, sex jokes. Yes, Rhys. Just put it in." He sighed and looked at the screen in front of Rhys, speaking quietly and all breathy. "Plug.. me.. in."

Rhys ignored the nauseating twisting sensation in his gut that told him not to do it, and grabbed the small device to his left, pushing it into the port in his left temple. The moment it clicked into place, his heart skipped a beat and he felt a wave of heat crawl up his neck as Jack began to chuckle. Rhys didn't bother to turn his head before the hologram at his side blinked out of existence and showed up a moment later on the monitor before him. 

"Ah... Thanks, Rhys. Oh, hold on." Jack looked down in the monitor, concentrating on something for a moment before he repeated himself, his voice now much louder and echoic, surrounding Rhys and the entire office and for all he knew, all of Helios as well. "Thanks, Rhys! You're a total sweetheart, really," he chuckled again. "Ohhh, Rhysie, I love you..." 

Jack was looking down again as he'd spoken before his smile faded and he looked up at Rhys through the screen, unblinking.

"The road to Hell is paved with good intentions... And you're coming with me."

The screen flickered and a loud crash could be heard, the sounds of distant emergency alarms going off and the screen glitching out, Jack's face blinking back and forth between seriousness and a disturbing grin, then back again before he disappeared out of sight. Rhys yanked the jack out of his head and rose from the chair just in time, as wrist locks had come up out of the arms of the chair not even a full second later. He stumbled over his own feet as he'd quickly moved away from the chair, heart pounding against his chest, a pallor washing out his complexion as he heard Jack laughing, the sounds of things crashing continuing. He learned back over the desk and started typing things into the high-tech computer, tapping on everything on the screen, hoping he'd find a Cancel button somewhere, though it was to no avail.  
Rhys went to turn and run, hoping another door could be found on this side of the room, for the main one had remained locked and the open panel in the floor had been sealed shut since first entry of the grand office. He heard Jack groan loudly and jumped in response to it, freezing on the spot. 

"Don't you dare try leaving, you little shit! You're not going anywhere, Rhys. Not without me."

Rhys looked around the room looking for another monitor, or another sight of Jack, but all that carried on was his reverberating electronic voice, no visuals. He turned and looked for a door again, cursing under his breath as he hadn't seen one and the crashing sounds were getting closer, causing the room to shake.

"I will be great again... I will live... are you ready, pumpkin?" 

Everything had suddenly gotten louder and the lights went out after a loud bang, Rhys' ears ringing as he fell to the floor after something seemed to fall onto him, passing out.  
Only a few minutes had gone by before Rhys awoke, coughing on the floor. He rose as quickly as his body let him and looked around. It was uncomfortably quiet, the room a dark blue haze with flickering red lights near the door, smoke on the far end of the room, sparks from severed lines flashing through it. Rhys rubbed his eyes and stared at the cloud of smoke, wondering what had happened. _'Where did he go?'_  
Rhys had assumed the worst, thinking Jack had somehow managed to erase himself while simultaneously destroying the base, but his guard immediately went back up when he heard sounds through the thick smoke, a soft light shining through it and the faint silhouette of a body. 

"Aah... much better." 

The familiar electronic quality previous present in that voice was gone, and Rhys had felt a sinking feeling in his stomach when he'd heard it. There was, without a doubt, a figure in the midst, and it was emerging from the machine that had been hidden behind a panel in the wall.  
In a brand new tangible body, Jack hopped off the machine's step and began approaching Rhys. He was surprisingly quick, shoulders slightly raised, moving closer and staring at Rhys as though he were prey.  
At first, Rhys couldn't move; his eyes were wide in terror and fixed on the being coming towards him as he said Jack's name as if he'd just said a ghost's name. He legs started to work and he began backing up, though he knew he had no where to go. His subconscious was screaming at him to run but he couldn't get himself to move any faster.  
A blink of an eye and Jack was right in front of him, and Rhys felt as though his heart might burst from his chest. Jack reached out towards Rhys, hands wrapping around his throat and squeezing. Rhys choked on nothing, pulling at Jack's arms in an attempt to get him to stop, trying to process the fact that he was actually able to feel him. He struggled to breathe and even think as the oxygen supply to his brain was being cut off, the grip on his throat getting tighter yet. He tried to say Jack's name again, though no sound came out, his pupils dilating as he felt himself beginning to pass out.  
Jack pushed Rhys backwards into the wall, intentionally letting his head slam against it, a strained sound escaping the brunet's lips from the impact. The sight only fuelled Jack's needs that he hadn't been able to feel nor deal with since he'd died in his previous body. He pulled Rhys away from the wall for just a moment before slamming his head against the wall again.  
The younger man's eyes were closed and his grip on Jack's arms had loosened. Jack sneered and turned, pushing Rhys back, making him fall to the floor, too close to passing out to try stopping himself from falling too hard. He'd opened his eyes, just barely alert enough to start trying to crawl backwards, but his attempts were ceased as the older man climbed on top of him, knees painfully hitting the floor. His eyes were wide and full of murderous intent, the blue and green impossibly bright and all too real. He grit his teeth as he swung as Rhys, fist colliding with his cheek and nose. The brunet let out a sound of pain and Jack grinned briefly because of it before hitting him again, blood dripping out of Rhys' nose and smearing over his lips. Jack punched Rhys once more, knuckles coated in the younger man's blood that had now been smeared across his cheekbone.  
Rhys' eyes were half lidded and his lips were parted, head turned to the side, staring at nothing with blurred vision. Jack's hair had fallen into his face in his bout of violence as he loomed over the younger man. He smoothed it back and stared down at the man beneath him, exhaling slowly as he sat back on Rhys's thighs.  
Rhys had no strength to get up or even try to fight, and the punches to the face didn't help. The pain was pulsing in his head, and it felt like he'd been hit with a sledgehammer, the ache nearly unbearable. Something had to have broken at this point. He turned his head to face Jack, looking up at him, tasting the blood in his mouth. When Jack moved his hand towards Rhys' face again, the younger man flinched, though impact never came. Instead, Jack slid his thumb over Rhys' lips, taking the blood with it and licking it off. 

"We're partners, Rhys, and partners don't abandon each other, now do they?" he asked. When Rhys could only stare in silence, Jack moved his hand back to Rhys' neck, feeling his pulse as he squeezed again. " _Do they?_ " He repeated through bared teeth. 

Rhys nodded quickly, shaking underneath Jack. This man could kill him at any second, but why didn't he? Why did he stop? Jack moved his hips in a way Rhys never wanted to witness, feeling friction in his groin before noticing the elder man looked hard as a rock. Rhys shifted his gaze back up to Jack's face, the elder man having continued to stare at him the whole time, even with the rocking of the hips. He tilted his head and smirked, shadows cast on his face in a way that made him look absolutely terrifying.  
Before Rhys could process anything, Jack was standing and pulling Rhys up by the collar of his shirt. He pulled the red tie from underneath Rhys' half-striped blue shirt and tied it around his neck, tugging on it to lead Rhys to the desk. The blue tone in the room was still present, dark shadows everywhere as Jack stopped in front of the desk and moved behind the other man. 

"I don't think you've learned your lesson yet..." Jack said in a low tone into Rhys' right ear, sliding his hand from the right side of his waist around to the left side as he leaned in close to his other ear.  
"See, you got me a little excited, pumpkin... trying to leave like that. Gotta make sure you don't try it again. Mmm..." 

Jack bit Rhys' ear, earning a surprised _'ah'_ from him, stepping closer. He kissed the back of Rhys' neck softly, wrapping his arms around the brunet and feeling his chest, giving him a false sense of security with his gentle movements before tugging on his tie with one hand and pushing on his back with the other.  
Rhys was bent over on the desk, the blood still dripping from his nose and now onto the surface before him, panic coursing through his veins as he realized what Jack might be doing. His fight or flight kicked in and he tried to push himself away from the desk to run, but Jack grabbed him by the vest, pulling him back for a moment before the vest fell from his shoulders and Rhys fell to the floor again. 

"Won't be needing that! D'awww, you're helping me!" 

Jack tossed the vest aside and grabbed Rhys again, this time with both hands by his shirt and lifted him, throwing him into the edge of the desk. He reached around Rhys from behind and pulled the tie tighter, setting it between his teeth and biting down on it. It would act as his leash for the untamed puppy before him. He reached his hands around once more and began to unbutton Rhys' dress shirt, exposing his torso. Rhys clawed at Jack's forearms, trying to once again get Jack's hands away from himself, though this behaviour both aroused Jack further and triggered his violence even more. He leaned his head back to pull the tie, the sounds of Rhys choking again making him chuckle as he pressed himself against the brunet, the once pleasant pulsing in his groin beginning to ache.  
Jack pulled the shirt off of Rhys and tossed it aside to where his vest already laid before moving on to his pants. He unbuttoned them and pulled the zipper down, leaning back momentarily. He looked at the scarred seam where Rhys' bionic arm started in its socket and let the tie fall from his mouth to lean closer and lick the perfect line around the edge of it. Oddly, the surrounding skin had become hypersensitive after the replacement rather than senseless; Rhys shuddered at the sensation and almost whined, his body betraying his mind as he'd felt a twinge of arousal down below. There were so many sensations of immense pain and pleasure and confusion, he didn't know what to think or how to react anymore.  
Jack ran his hands over Rhys' back gently before deliberately digging his nails into his skin and dragging them down his back, red lines forming, making Rhys' back involuntarily arch inwards and he gasped. 

"I like the sounds you make, but let's see if we can get them louder, hm?"  
"Nn.. Jack-"  
"You'll have time to say my name all you want soon enough, cupcake, but first you need to hush and do somethin' for me." 

Jack turned Rhys around, admiring his torso; he hadn't expected Rhys to have any muscle but it was definitely there. He touched Rhys' chest, feeling his heartbeat beneath one of his hands before sliding them down across his nipples. 

"I have this new body... Gotta do a test run. And there's no one else here." Rhys opened his mouth in protest and shock. "That's right, they're all gone. Even your little friends."

Jack pushed on Rhys' shoulders until he had to bend his knees, dropping to the floor, grabbing Jack's legs to keep from falling over. Rhys looked up at Jack, not daring to blink, hoping this was all a nightmare and that he was still unconscious on the floor but he knew it was reality.  
Jack undid his own pants and pulled out his dick, just staring at it in all of its glory for a moment before looking back at Rhys, reaching out to rest a hand on the back of his head, but it wouldn't be that easy. As Jack had begun pulling Rhys towards himself, Rhys tried pulling away in the opposite direction, pushing on Jack's legs with his hands.

"No- Jack, don't..."  
"Honestly, the more you plead, the more I'm going to want to do it."  
"Why me?"  
"Rhys..." Jack laughed at him. "You need to be taught a lesson. You don't leave. Heh, you _can't_ leave. You don't ignore me. You don't abandon me. You don't walk away when I'm talking to you. You do what I tell you to do. You disobey that, you get punished."  
"What is wrong with you? You like abusing people..?"  
"As a matter of fact, Rhys, yeah, I do. You of all people should already know that, seeing as we've been together for awhile now... I give people what they deserve. But, see, there's only so much satisfaction a man can have with verbal threats and names and memories of past victories before he needs more. I've been planning this for a long-" he chuckled again, staring off into space. "A _long_ time, mmkay, and this is my surprise. This body, this new life, this revival of myself is the surprise. And you can't appreciate that? After what I did for you?"

Jack glared at Rhys, sliding his fingers into his hair before pulling on it to the side, forcing Rhys to tilt his head and look up more. The fear in the younger man's eyes sent another wave of pleasure through his new body. 

"This isn't about sex, kid, I'm only doing that because, well shit, I need it. And you're.. the only.. one.. here. And if I'm rough enough, you might learn your goddamn lesson for once and think twice before disobeying."  
"..I'm not your pet. And.. who are you? This... Jack, you aren't _Jack_."  
"Oh, kiddo, if there's one thing you must learn, it's to never judge a book by its cover. And even after you read it, don't always trust what you've seen. Because right now, I'm me, I'm only in a different state of mind. You put me here, kitten, so let's just roll with it, hm?"  
"Wait-"  
"Nah, Rhys, no more talking. We're done talking, _partner_." 

Jack slid his hand down to the back of Rhys' head and forced him closer to himself, using his other hand to pry his mouth open. He had a strong jaw and Jack almost got his fingers bitten off in the process but he eventually got his mouth open, inching himself closer to the lips of the younger man. 

"You bite, I'll cut your tongue off. Rip out your teeth one by one. Now... choke on it."

Rhys whined and squeezed his eyes shut when he felt the tip of Jack's cock touch his lower lip. He'd decided to not move for now, maybe try to play Jack's game and convince him that he was "obeying" for awhile, only to map out his escape in the process. His train of thought was cut short however, as he couldn't concentrate on anything when there was a dick filling his mouth. He felt the weight of it on his tongue that he couldn't help but move around beneath it. He didn't know how Jack created a new body for himself or what the machine was he came out of, but he didn't expect Jack to taste so _human_. Hell, he never imagined his idol would be forcing him to suck him off either.  
Jack reveled in the sounds Rhys was making as he began to thrust into his mouth, watching the way his cock disappeared past those pink lips to hit the back of his throat. He had planned on skipping the foreplay and getting right to the action but a part of him he wished he could deny had cared about the brunet and felt he should make it at least a little easier, because afterall, it was definitely going to be uncomfortable with his girth.  
Rhys' mouth was surprisingly small - that or Jack's past partners weren't lying about the "monster cock" - but it made it all the more enticing to watch, the entirety of Jack's length stuffed into the younger man's mouth, who's hands still rested on Jack's legs. 

"Fuck, have you done this before?" Jack asked. Rhys didn't nod or shake his head, and he didn't look up. "It's good. Ah, Rhys, it's really good..." 

Jack licked his lips as he reconsidered what he doing for a split second, wondering if maybe he'd gone too far and should back down - he hadn't even remembered exactly why he'd gone after Rhys in the first place. Instead, he thought of how Rhys looked underneath him on the floor and all thoughts of stopping were erased as he pulled on Rhys' hair again, lightly at first, then aggressively.  
Rhys yelped at the brief pain in his scalp, the dick slipping out of his mouth, a string of saliva following it. Jack grabbed Rhys' flesh arm and pulled him up until he was standing, looking at him and unknowingly admiring his features before turning him around again to face the desk once more. He figured he'd calmed Rhys down enough that his next move should be easy at this point. Jack couldn't keep himself from being a bit aggressive, however. 

"How does it make you feel to know what I'm going to do to you?" he asked almost in a whisper, sliding one hand up Rhys' torso to toy with his nipple. "How do you feel knowing that oh, _Handsome Jack_ is going to fuck you? Does it scare you?" Jack moved his hand up to choke Rhys again. "Does it.. excite you?" He moved his hand back down his torso slowly at first before quickly moving it over Rhys' clothed cock, rubbing it through his pants and leaning close to Rhys' ear to whisper. "Does it make you hard?" 

Rhys whimpered then, surprised he made any sound at all, feeling his face redden as he had no choice but to pay attention to the small bit of pleasure Jack was bringing him. He looked down, watching as Jack slipped his fingers into the waistband of his boxers, sliding down to take hold of his half erect cock. Jack stroked it for a few seconds until Rhys moaned at least once before stopping to pull the younger man's pants down, watching them fall to his knees before pushing him down on the desk.  
Rhys' saliva had dried on Jack's cock, so he leaned over Rhys, pressed against him as he reached around his face and shoved his fingers into the other's hot mouth. He hadn't needed to give any orders, for Rhys immediately began to suck on his fingers, stopping to let Jack pull them back out with a thick supply of saliva dripping off of them. Jack used the other's spit as lubricant, stroking himself with it before resting another hand on Rhys' lower back, exhaling slowly before skipping a countdown and pushing into Rhys. He moved both of his hands to Rhys' hip bones, hooking his fingers around the upper curves of them and holding on as leverage as he continued to force himself into Rhys.  
The brunet was biting his lip as hard he could without breaking through the flesh in an attempt to stifle the cries he wanted to make in response to the pain he felt, fists clenched so tightly they shook. The more Jack entered him, however, the worse it felt and the tighter everything became and he couldn't stop the frail whining from escaping his lips. He gripped the edges of the desk as Jack's thrusts became more deliberate and rough, feeling as though there was a blazing fire inside of him. He'd wondered if Jack had done this with another man before or if this was the first time for both of them. Regardless, he wanted it to stop.  
Jack moaned, tilting his head back and closing his eyes, focusing on nothing but how good it felt to be inside Rhys. He thrust harder, faster, pushing Rhys into the edge of the desk. He glanced down, listening to the soft moans he was sure Rhys didn't intend to be making and smirked, reaching forward and grabbing a fistful of his dark hair, pulling it so hard Rhys cried out. The power Jack had over the man beneath him was intoxicating and he never wanted it to end.

"Fuck, Rhys... Been so long... You feel incredible." Jack said in between pants. "Mm, it's so good..."

Rhys stared at the surface of the desk, the muscles around his eyes twitching as he grimaced, feeling the formation of tears in his eyes. Of all the things he'd felt, nothing had been quite as strange as how he'd felt then and there, with his once-upon-a-time idol fucking him against his desk, in his illustrious office. The sensations of burning pain and pulsating pleasure mixed throughout his entire body and he'd started to almost enjoy it, though he tried damn hard to be quiet about it.  
His body betrayed him further, however, for when Jack adjusted his position and penetrated him at a slightly different angle, he had a rush of ecstasy and couldn't stop himself from making it verbally known how good it felt, moaning loudly. 

"That's it, Rhysie..." Jack said. "Nice and loud for me."  
"Jack..." 

Jack slowed his pace before pulling out of Rhys, grabbing one of his shoulders to pull him up. He spun Rhys around, lifting his hands to hold his face. The brunet's eyes were glossy, breathing out of his mouth as he looked at Jack, mind in a haze. Jack looked at Rhys' lips before leaning forwards to kiss him, just once. He neither smiled nor frowned as he pushed on the other man's chest until he'd fallen back onto the desk again, this time facing Jack. 

"I want to see your face." he said, pulling off Rhys' boots and pants, spreading his legs. He stepped closer, hooking his hands around the backs of Rhys' knees and pulling him closer to himself. 

Jack slowly jerked himself off for a moment before re-entering Rhys, holding his long legs against his sides, all of his clothing still on, compared to Rhys' state of nudity.  
Rhys had his eyes open to watch Jack, but as the elder had begun to fuck him again, he closed his eyes. Jack made a sound something akin to a growl, immediately picking up his pace and pounding into Rhys aggressively, pushing his slender legs back and holding onto the tops of his thighs to pull him even closer, the skin on skin contact creating a sort of sweaty friction.  
He put more and more force into his movements, the sounds almost echoing in the otherwise empty room. He watched as Rhys gripped the edges of the desk so tightly, the knuckles of his flesh hand had gone white as his breaths seemed to tremble along with his body. 

"Oh fuck, Rhys," Jack breathed out, letting one of Rhys' legs fall as he moved his hand to stroke the younger man's neglected cock, rhythmically in sync with his thrusts. "Gonna cum inside'ya- you know that, right?" 

Rhys just barely opened his eyes once more to stare at Jack, mouth agape, skin glistening with sweat. His body felt like a furnace and his mind was too far gone and drunk on pleasure to care whether he was vocal or not, or whether it felt good or not. Absentmindedly, he mumbled Jack's name in between ' _fuck me_ 's and ' _oh my god_ 's, trying to reach out to him with his bionic arm.  
When Jack noticed the metal black and yellow hand reaching for him, he leaned forwards over Rhys, this position seemingly more intense for Rhys, as the man's body had jolted in response before he remembered what he was doing, reaching out further and resting his hand on the back of Jack's neck.  
Jack moved his hands to the underside of Rhys' thighs, pushing them back and propping them up on his shoulders as he leaned further yet, thrusting into the younger man as quickly as he could. He pumped Rhys' length with his opposite hand this time, as he reached his right hand up to Rhys' face, sticking his fingers into his open mouth and watching him suck on them for a bit before removing them. Out of curiousity, he touched Rhys' temple port with his wet fingertips, moving them in gentle circles around the metal of the port and the surrounding skin, and was surprised with the reaction.  
Rhys tilted his head back and arched his back inwards as soon as the port was touched, groaning the more Jack touched it. That alone had brought him incredibly close to the edge, grabbing at the layers of shirts and vests Jack wore, pulling him down to kiss him. He knew Jack would tease him for this later - for falling into the depths of ecstasy in the end - and that was assuming he got out of it alive... but at this point, he didn't have a care in the world except for how he was feeling because of the man who had, ironically, tried to kill him twenty minutes ago.

"J-" Rhys swallowed hard, "Ja-.. Jack. Jack, I.."  
"You close, kitten?" Jack responded, the corners of his lips curling into a smile. "Me too, kiddo. Just a bit longer." 

Strands of hair had fallen into Jack's face again, the ends curling from sweat, and Rhys had gotten the idea to mimic the things Jack had done. He listened to Jack's panting and moaning, the blissful sound of it carrying him right to the last step of the figurative cliff he was about to fall from before briefly smirking, using what strength he had left to reach up enough to grab Jack's hair and _pull_. 

"Aah, fuck!" 

Jack threw his head back when Rhys let go, his eyes squeezed shut and a look of absolute euphoria on his face as he came inside of Rhys, the brunet following suit just from the sight of Jack, similarly cursing and crying out. The thick fluid shot onto Rhys' own chest and stomach, the immense pleasure making them both see stars as Rhys' legs fell from Jack's shoulders and his metal arm hit the desk with a thud, too exhausted to stop the impact.  
Jack's breathing gradually slowed, exhaling loudly before opening his eyes to look down at Rhys, processing everything before pulling out of him, his cum slowly dripping out of the brunet's body. He chuckled before stepping back to admire what he'd accomplished, almost forgetting the violence he'd treated the man with earlier.  
With Rhys still lying on the desk, Jack moved around to the front of it, searching the drawers for tissues. Upon finding an unopened package, he took it from the drawer and opened it, taking a tissue out to clean himself off with before tucking his now limp cock back into his pants.  
Rhys slowly sat up, watching as Jack pulled more tissues from the package. He cleaned the dried blood from Rhys' face first, the other flinching from the now bruised skin being touched, then moved onto the cum on his torso and the cum that had almost dripped onto Jack's office floor.  
When Jack went to toss the used tissues away, Rhys got off the desk and started to re-dress himself, his concentration coming back to him as he started to question everything at once, still wondering if it was all a weird dream. He didn't bother to put his tie back on nor his vest, and simply hung them over his arm, walking towards the big window behind Jack's desk to gaze out at the glowing planet. The office seemed like it had gotten darker, the brightness from the planet softly illuminating that area of the room.  
Jack walked back to where Rhys stood, staring out the window with him in silence for awhile before resting a hand on his upper back, looking at him, waiting for the brunet to turn his head. When Rhys did finally look at the other dark haired man, Jack ran his thumb across the bruises on Rhys' cheekbone, noticing the way he winced from the pain. 

"I gotta ask if you learned your lesson yet, Rhys." he questioned, unblinking with a subtle smile.  
"You're.. still thinking about that? What were you even trying to prove?"  
"I wasn't proving anything. I wanted you to learn... that you shouldn't betray me. In short."  
"What about everything else you said?" Rhys looked at the floor, feeling his heart race again.  
"Oh. That. Well... I mean, I can't control you. Not entirely," Jack winked and put pressure on the bruise. "I didn't want you abandoning me, Rhys. I have a fucked up way of getting you not to, but... I think it worked? And that's what matters, princess."  
"You tried to kill me." 

Rhys stepped away from Jack and glared at him, lips pursed as Jack tilted his head - he hated it when Jack tilted his head. 

"Oh, I did not." Jack said nonchalantly, though Rhys squinted his eyes and sneered at him. "Alright, maybe I.. Reached a dangerous level of violence with you. I'm sorry - how's that? Eh?" 

Rhys sighed and looked back out the window, and Jack could see his jaw move as he clenched and unclenched his teeth repeatedly. 

"Listen, kiddo. We're partners. I wasn't lying about that. I wanted to build this back up with you."  
"...How? You killed everybody, Jack. You said they're all dead."  
"You're so naive!" Jack said, laughing. "Nobody's dead. I mean, I don't think they are... but if they are, you've got me, and what more could you want than Handsome Jack at your side, am I right?" 

Rhys opened his mouth to protest, though Jack spoke too soon to even think of a response. 

"Let's just get out of here, okay? As much as I adore my beloved office, I need to be somewhere else. I need... something new. A fresh start." 

Jack walked away from Rhys and down the few steps of the platform his desk was on, continuing on towards the big set of double doors. He scanned his hand on the screen next to the door and tapped in a code to unlock the doors. As they slid open, Jack stepped out of the room, turning back towards Rhys. 

"You comin'? Partners, right?" 

Rhys had turned around to watch Jack go and he scrunched his face up in disappointment solely in himself as he felt the intense need to be back at Jack's side already. He had been crossing his arms, but dropped them to his sides with a deep sigh as he started down the steps, following Jack and mumbling,

"Yeah. Partners."

**Author's Note:**

> Mo'fuckin' psychos.  
> Honestly, I had way too much fun writing this to be considered safe for society.  
> I'm not going to say anything else about this, or what I think is right and what's not.  
> Just... just hush, sweetheart. Did you like it? Fuck, I hope so, I had trouble completing it...  
> Errr... more to come?? Dontlockmeup.


End file.
